Bluetts Block largely excluded from major Molonglo development proposal

More than 800 homes will be built across two blocks adjacent to a region, known as Bluetts Block, under redrafted development plans, which include about seven hectares of land being cleared, down from 16 hectares in previous plans.

Capital Estate Developments is expecting an environmental impact assessment exemption from the ACT planning authority for a small section of Bluetts Block attached to Uriarra Road, on grounds that previous studies have already identified potential risk.

About seven dwellings, including part of a multi-storey unit, will be built on the site if the exemption is granted and the development application is given the green light.

Walking and cycle trails will be established through the adjacent blocks to improve connection to Stromlo Forest Park.

Plans for the section of Bluetts owned by Capital have been scaled back after a community campaign to protect the area for its ecological value drew widespread support, including from ACT senator David Pocock and the ACT Conservation Council.

The entire new subdivision, Stromlo Reach, is now expected to impact less than a hectare of high-quality tree communities, down from almost five hectares.

More than a hectare of pink tail worm lizard habitat, considered low quality, will likely be impacted during development - down from 2.7 hectares.

The rest of what was once farm land owned by World War I veteran Aubrey Blewitt is now owned by the ACT government and the Australian National University. Plans for its development are still uncertain.

Alice Wells and Jean Casburn have led the grassroots campaign to have the whole area declared a nature reserve.

They still hold serious concerns about the development and have not seen any guarantee Bluetts Block will be protected.

"We are disappointed to find that Capital Estate Developments is still avoiding carrying out a proper independent EIS [Environmental Impact Statement]," they said in a statement.

ACT Conservation Council biodiversity campaign manager Peta Bulling said the revised plan was a win for the community.

Ms Bulling said the development footprint on the block of concern had been more than halved and the impact on remnant trees had been eliminated.

She said the ACT Conservation Council would continue fighting to have the location made a nature reserve and protected.

"I think we can all consider this a win for the campaign," she said.

"But this definitely isn't the end of the story."

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Ms Bulling said she would like to see the dwellings proposed for the land attached to Uriarra Road pushed further back, and there were significant concerns regarding the indirect impact of such a huge development for the region.

She said they anticipated noise pollution, light pollution and disturbance from bikes were likely to have an impact on wildlife.

"Bluetts Block is a very important site because it's incredibly rich in biodiversity. Some people have actually likened the site's diversity to that of Black Mountain, which is the reserve in Canberra with the highest level of protection," Ms Bulling said.

"It hosts over 100 species of plants as well as rare marsupial populations. It's also home to many of Canberra's woodland birds, which we know are facing a really steep decline, and it also provides foraging and nesting habitat for the endangered superb parrot and gang gang cockatoo."

The ACT government has slated the Molonglo Valley to accommodate approximately 55,000 residents over the coming decades, filling in around the Molonglo River and towards the arboretum.

Capital Estate Developments consultant Kip Tanner said the whole valley was subjected to a strategic assessment under the Environmental Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act and decisions were made then about areas to be developed.

"Whilst that doesn't necessarily guarantee the appropriateness of the development footprint in any given location, we should respect the big picture decisions that have been made in terms of Canberra's development footprint without revisiting it at every step along the way," he said.

"If you sell somebody a house block, it's a little bit amoral to tell them 'Sorry, we've decided that you can't build on it now because it's native grassland'. I'm a much bigger fan of getting the big picture decisions right."

While the second stage of Denman Prospect is the current border for the western edge, the ACT government is undergoing an investigation to determine whether to extend the development footprint further west.

Mr Tanner said the ACT government owns the land around the Molonglo Group Centre and all the region in Molonglo stage three, north of the river, which will be developed.

"In areas like the western edge, or the eastern broadacre area, those processes need to get done properly and be done well and come up with an appropriate balance of housing people and dealing with a growing Canberra," he said.

"Once those decisions are made, we should stick to them."

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